Firefighters responded to a house fire on Plains Road in Readfield on Friday night. Credit: Courtesy of Maine Department of Public Safety

When firefighters responded to a blaze Friday night in Readfield, neighbors were assisting a 74-year-old man who had escaped from the second floor of the house and said he wife was still inside.

But because of the extent of the fire, responders were unable to enter to attempt a rescue, according to Shannon Moss, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Investigators with the state fire marshal’s office responded to the scene on Plains Road and located the body of Carolyn Wentworth, 75, early Saturday morning in the area where she was sleeping, according to Moss.

The man who escaped the fire, Jerrold Wentworth, is in serious condition at Maine General Medical Center in Augusta.

Fire investigators returned later Saturday to examine the scene and interview neighbors as part of the ongoing effort to determine the origin and cause of the fire.

Paul Koenig is chief digital editor at the Bangor Daily News. He previously spent six years at Maine magazine, as managing editor and then editor. Before that he worked at Old Port magazine, Mainebiz and...